Talking to Kids About Trump

Well that didn’t go the way I’d hoped. Welcome to a Trumpian world. Or perhaps I should say dysTrumpian. In case you hadn’t heard, Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States.

I’m sure there will be plenty of analysis about how this happened and what went wrong and who is to blame. Personally, I blame those who underestimated the amount of racism and hatred that has been hiding and festering in this country for at least the last 150 years. I also blame not only those who fought for Trump but also those who fought against Hillary Clinton. Too many people went around saying that while Trump was a nightmare, they didn’t trust Clinton or believed she was dishonest or even simply didn’t like her.

But that’s not the issue I need to deal with right now. What I need to figure out is what to tell my kids.

The impact of this election will undoubtedly affect the majority of their lives. First and foremost, of course, there will be the tax cuts for the wealthy along with the associated cuts in funding for public services such as schools, parks, transportation, and so on. There will be a massive increase in racism and discrimination of all sorts; their Black, Hispanic, Muslim, and LGBTQ friends, to name a few, will likely see their rights stripped away and opportunities disappear. And the effect on the Supreme Court — whose decisions we talk about all the time — will likely last well into their old age.

And yet, despite all of this, we have to give our kids hope. No matter how bad we think it is, no matter how depressed or despondent we get, we have to make sure our kids do not lose hope. Because it is only through their hard work and determination that we’ll be able to overcome this — to turn what could easily be the end of the United States of America into a minor setback.

Somehow, we have to make sure our kids don’t give up. We need to give them the tools to come through the next four years stronger and more determined than ever to truly make this country great again for everyone. They need to be ready to clean up the mess we’ve made for them. We need to keep our spirits up so that they don’t give up.